This is awesome. Finally I can do a Stl-Chicago-Vancouver flight on Southwest although I wish Southwest was in Denver (Although Frontier looks to be in trouble, so who knows). The Van-Denver-Stl flights are such a breeze do to Denver being in the geographical centre of Van-Stl. 2hrs, 2hrs. Anyway this is good for Canadians wanting cheap flights. Southwest is the strongest airline down here and they don't have silly must pay for this rules that the legacy carriers have now.
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WestJet Airlines Ltd. has reached an agreement with U.S.-based Southwest Airlines that will allow the two low-cost carriers to sell seats on each others' flights, significantly expanding North American market access for both carriers and offering "seamless service" to customers. WestJet shares took flight on the news, and were up almost 11 per cent, to $14.08, in early afternoon trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange Tuesday.[/p] "It's a great marriage," WestJet chief executive officer Sean Durfy said in an interview.[/p] The corporate cultures and business models are similar, Mr. Durfy said. And Southwest's reach is enormous.[/p]"They have 3,400 flights a day to locations in the U.S. ...they're massive." The memorandum of understanding between the two airlines, announced Tuesday, was "the first step that will see both airlines, by late 2009, have the ability to commence codeshare flights across both networks," Calgary-based WestJet said in a news release.[/p] Mr. Durfy said the agreement, which must still be finalized by the two airlines and approved by regulators, stands as "a defining moment" for WestJet, which was founded in 1996 as a regional airline in Western Canada.[/p] "When you examine our network in Canada and Southwest's network in the United States, and the potential to significantly improve both organizations' market access, this is indeed a great day," Mr. Durfy said.[/p] For Southwest Airlines, the largest domestic carrier in the U.S., the agreement with WestJet marks its first international codeshare agreement.[/p] Gary Kelly, president and chief executive officer of Southwest Airlines, said he is "confident we have found a perfect fit with WestJet, and we are excited to work toward opening our expansive U.S. network to include Canadian destinations."[/p] The airlines said they will introduce a distribution plan in 2008, with the codeshare agreement – which would allow each airline to sell seats on the other's flights – to be in place by late 2009, subject to regulatory approval.[/p][a href="vny!://www.reportonbusiness.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080708.wwestjet0708/BNStory/Business/home"]vny!://www.reportonbusiness.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080708.wwestjet0708/BNStory/Business/home[/a]
